Is the 100,000th EV Sold a Car Behind the Times?

The 100,000th electric vehicle sweepstakes has a winner. Plug In America awarded the buyer of a Mitusbishi i-MiEV with a new charger for his gas-free car, which hit this significant milestone for American cars sold in the second generation of electric vehicles. In effect, the 100,000 electric cars were sold over the last two years, though some would contend the car in question has already been lapped by the latest technological advancements.

Rich Salmon of Grand Bay, Alabama, was the man who purchased the electric vehicle estimated to be the 100,000th sold in the U.S. since the dawn of the most recent generation. The number is remarkable, considering it represents a generation of cars that includes the i-MiEV and luxury vehicles such as the Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S.

The i-MiEV is not a sparkling achievement in the EV industry at the moment, considering it goes only around 60 miles on a full charge and takes most of a day’s time to charge the batteries. The prize Plug In America awarded the winner was a charging system that cut the time down to seven hours. Compared to Tesla charging times — especially superchargers and the proposed battery-swap system — the iMiEV appears to be a car behind the times in the EV industry.